Conventional thermoplastic bags formed of thin high strength plastic film come in many configurations and are usually provided in packs for the selective dispensing of individual bags at store checkout counters, adjacent produce bins, and in other environs whereat goods are to be loaded.
The bags will normally be packaged in rolls or flat stacks with the bags in each instance being releasably joined for the selective severance of single bags at the time of use. The roll is considered a particularly advantageous form of bag package for several reasons, including the accommodation of large number of bags in a compact package, the provision of a package which is easily stored and handled, and the provision of a package from which the individual bags can be conveniently and expeditiously removed for use. It is also significant that a roll package can be conveniently produced by merely rolling bags as they are formed along a continuous length of material.
The thermoplastic film bags themselves come in several forms, the two most popular forms comprising bags with plain or flat tops, frequently found at produce counters for the packaging and weighing of individual fruits, vegetables and the like; and T-shirt or handle bags, normally found at checkout counters for the accommodation of a variety of goods for subsequent transport from the store.
While the plain top bags conventionally come in rolls, and normally merely mount on spindles at the point of use, it has been the more common practice to supply the T-shirt or handle bags in flat bag packs wherein the bags are releasably welded together at central tabs integrally formed along the bag mouths between the side handles. The prior art has many examples of such bags, two of which will be noted in the Kuklies et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,832, and Pilon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,090, wherein the central tabs not only provide means for the securement of the bags to each other, but also incorporate apertures for the mounting of the bag pack itself on a distribution rack or the like.
Although the flat bag pack has been found to be an adequate means for supplying T-shirt bags, the provision of such bags in rolls would be preferred both for the reasons set forth previously, and in light of the elimination of the multiple steps involved in forming the tabs with apertures therein, stacking the bags and securing the bags, normally by a heat sealing of the tabs to each other. Also, providing such bags in rolls would be a logical following step in the sequential forming of such bags from continuous tubular lengths of thermoplastic film.
However, practical difficulties arise when T-shirt bags are packaged in a roll, particularly wherein, for an effective dispensing of the bags with the closed ends of the bags outermost, it is necessary that the bags be rolled with the top or handle end of the bag fed forwardly into the roll.
For example, in following what appears to be a simple procedure of forming severably joined T-shirt bags from a continuous tubular film, a significant problem arises in that as the tubular film moves in a longitudinal direction toward the receiving roll, air enters into the leading mouths of the bags causing a ballooning or outward billowing of the bag sheets. This in turn causes a significant disruption in the smooth longitudinal extent of the continuous strip of bags as well as considerable wrinkling of the bag sheets as the bags are compressed at the point of rolling and the air forced therefrom. As can be appreciated, the air inflation and pressure deflation of the bags could also result in weakening or damaging of the individual bags or the joinders therebetween. While it is conceivable this problem could be avoided by rolling the bags with the closed bottom ends thereof leading onto the roll, this would not be a satisfactory solution for situations wherein the bags are manually separated in light of the awkward manipulation of the bags which would be required.
In light of the foregoing, while the desirability of rolled packages has been known, the adaptability of such rolled packages to handle or T-shirt bags with the open mouths of the bags directed toward the roll during formation of the package has not heretofore resulted in a particularly acceptable package.